January 2001
Our Earth, Our Future - Just Save It! - WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, 1999
Wisdom Dlamini

By Wisdom Dlamini - Swaziland National Trust Commission

World Environment Day, established by the United Nations in 1972, is a people's event with governments, individuals and community groups take part in environmental activities.

Today marks the World Environment Day. World Environment Day is commemorated each year on June 5. It is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action. In many countries, this observance provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international conventions and sometimes leads to the establishment of permanent government structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning.

With the theme, Our Earth, Our Future - Just Save it!, World Environment Day calls for each and everyone of us to demonstrate our commitment to protecting the environment and to preventing further damage to Our One and Only Earth. Broadly, the agenda is to give human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

The situation in Swaziland
Swaziland is a country with many different dynamics. Over the years, it has experienced persistent economic and environmental problems. Its population growth rate is one of the highest and has placed additional strains on all systems. Poverty has perpetuated underdevelopment and mismanagement of resources in the country. Furthermore, deterioration in terms of trade and lack of financial resources for investment have made it difficult for development of livelihood patterns that would reduce pressure on the natural resource base.

Amid these changes, environmental degradation continues. One of the major problems common to countries of Africa is imbalance in the use of its natural resources: those such as oil and vegetation are overexploited, while water, energy, minerals and organic resources are misused. Striking a balance between economic development and sustainability for the growing number of people remains the major environment and development challenge. The two are inter-linked, requiring a coherent and integrated approach for their solution.

Various regional for a of African government leaders have consistently mentioned the following priority environmental concerns:
Land degradation and desertification problems, particularly in relation to the need for food security and self-sufficiency;
The protection and sustainable use of forests;
Water resources issues, including the problem of water scarcity and efficient water management;
Pollution problems, particularly those affecting freshwater resources as well as urban, coastal, and marine areas;
Climatic problems, including drought and climate change; and
Demographic change and population pressures on natural resources and in urban areas.
Environmental degradation in Swaziland may be linked to poor economic performance and poverty. The chain of dependencies is all to familiar: rapid population growth and poverty accelerate deforestation and the expansion of agriculture into marginal areas, leading in turn to land degradation, which exarcebates food insecurity, loss of biodiversity, decline in water quality and quantity, and decrease in health status.

From the United Nations
"On this special United Nations day, let us take adequate steps to stop the careless exploitation and destruction of the environment by making the necessary changes in our lives, in our attitudes and in our behavior. We don't have another thousand years," says United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s Executive Director, Klaus Toepfer.

"Because all human activities affect the Earth, and the state of the Earth affects us all, every day should be World Environment Day. Until then, the United Nations will take seriously its responsibility towards our planet and to those who will inhabit it after us," says the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan in his World Environment Day celebrations.

LET US NOT WAIT FOR JUNE 5 TO COMMIT OURSELVES TO THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT. LET US MAKE EVERY DAY WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY!

Source:

United Nations Environment Programme;

http://www.unep.org/unep/per/ipa/wed/home.htm

United Nations Environment Programme;

http://www.unep.org/unep/per/ipa/wed/nr99.htm

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